In the context of his official visit to Australia, the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Mr. Nikolaos Hardalias, met today with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Mr. Richard Marles, at the seat of the Parliament at Canberra.

During the meeting, which was held in a friendly climate, Messrs Hardalias and Marles confirmed the strong and long-standing friendship between Greece and Australia, which is founded on historical, cultural and common-descent ties, as well as their continuing joint struggles for the values of Peace, Freedom and Democracy.

The talks focused on the bilateral relations between Greece and Australia, the prospects and capabilities for their further strengthening in various areas, such as the cooperation in the area of Defence and Defence Industry, health safety and emerging technologies.

The Deputy Minister of National Defence informed the Deputy Prime Minister of the ongoing Turkish provocative stance and the rhetoric of dispute of Greece’s national sovereign rights in land, sea and air, which has been also transferred to the field with record-high over-flights, violations and infringements of our National Airspace and our Territorial Sea. He stressed that as against this unstable condition, Greece promotes Defence Diplomacy and the productive regional cooperation, based on International Law and thereby, the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), having undertaken specific initiatives for the promotion of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider region.

The uncalled-for Russian invasion to Ukraine, which (invasion) blatantly violates International Law – and has been early on condemned by both countries – was also discussed, as well as its repercussions at a regional and international level, both in the areas of security and stability and in the economy sector, and NATO and the International Organizations’ coordinated responses.